Abriana
At the lake
I heard a familiar voice calling my name. "Abriana! Abriana!! Wake up!" I felt air blown into my mouth. "You'll be fine. I'm here, now. Just wake up!!" I felt my chest being compressed by someone. "Wake up, Goddamn it!" As the water came out of my mouth, I started coughing and tried to open my eyes. "Thank God! You're okay." I couldn't be any happier to see Detective Lock. I tried to thank him by giving a faded smile.
"Don't worry Abriana! I'm here now. Easton has told me everything about Alexa. I know she tried to kill you." Detective told me as he rested my head on his lap.
What the hell is he talking? Am I dreaming? Or am I dead? Where am I? At the lake? In the hospital?
"Easton?" I said quietly as I tried to open my eyes completely.
"Yes, he came out of the coma in the morning and he confessed everything but he got a sudden shock and now he's in coma." I could see him clearly now, I tried to grasp everything that he had said. I was sure neither am I dead nor dreaming.
"Where is Alexa?" I asked as I tried to get up but I was too feeble to do that.
Detective pointed his finger to Alexa who was lying at a distance unconscious. "I saw you two fighting in the lake from a distance and when i reached here, both of you were unconscious. When I took you and her out of the water, I noticed her face was covered in blood. It seemed she had broken her nose and cheekbone. I immediately dialled 911 and an ambulance is on its way."
"Don't tell mamà papà about what she did to me. Please. I love them." I requested him unaware of what exactly did I mean.
"I haven't told them anything yet. I'm just happy that you're okay. We can deal with this later." Detective assured me as I looked in the direction of sirens wailing. "For now, it's important that you take care of yourself." I looked at him smiling and he smiled back.
I closed my eyes and asked myself, should I be happy to be saved or sad to find out that the person who tried to kill me was my own sister.
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At the hospital
"Abriana! Bébé! Are you okay?" I woke up to the voice of my mother. "Sweetie! How do you feel?" I opened my eyes and looked at my mother. Her eyes were red and the bags under her eyes were clearly visible. I wondered what made her cry so much.
"Màmà! I feel much better. You don't need to cry now. Everything is fine." I tried to console my mother but she broke into tears.
Before I could understand what was going on, my father entered the room. As he walked towards me, my mother went to him and hugged him. She rested her head on his chest and kept sobbing. "It's okay! Everything will be fine", my father said taking her in embrace while his eyes started watering.
I couldn't figure out anything that was going on. "Are you going to tell me what the hell has happened?", I shouted.
My father came forward and sat beside me on the bed. He took my hand in his hands and squeezed it lightly. "Before we tell you anything, we want you to know that we're always with you. When we reached the hospital, Doctor Porter told us that our dear Alexa had died on the way to hospital due to pulmonary edema. Her lungs were filled with water and the injury caused her a severe blood loss." I didn't realize when did tears start rolling down my cheeks, but I remained quiet. My mother sat in a chair near the bed and sobbed while caressing my hair. When my father realized that I didn't react, he continued, "Sweetie, we know you've been through a lot lately and it's hard for you too but you're a very strong girl. We love you a lot and we'll protect you at any cost."
My mother leaned forward and kissed my forehead, I came into my senses as a teardrop from her eyes fell on my forehead. "I need to be alone for sometime."
"¡Vale! We'll be here outside the room. Call us if you need anything." She caressed my hair once again before leaving and followed my father towards the door.
Oh Alexa! Why did you do it? You wanted to be loved by everyone but you never realized that everyone loved you a lot. I wish you could see how heartbroken our parents are. What you did was wrong but you never deserved this. You were only delusional, if you had talked to me about what you felt, I would have never let this happen. I can't undo what has happened now but I promise you Lex, you will get the love that you always wanted. YOU WILL BE LOVED FOREVER.
I was distracted from my thoughts by a knock on the door. It was Detective Lock. "May I come in?" He asked me as he opened the door. I nodded as I tried to get up. "Mr. and Mrs. Vega told me that you woke up. How are you holding up?" He walked over my bed and sat in a chair.
"I don't know, I had never expected this. My sister... I... I loved her so much." I said silently as tears came out of my eyes. "I can only assure myself that I'll try to make everything fine."
Detective holded my hands and said, "Abriana, you're a very brave girl, you've handled a lot on your own. Just remember, everyone out there loves you, they're praying for you to get well soon. You have to be strong to take care of yourself and your family."
"Hmm... you're right." I nodded and wiped my tears.
Detective gave a genuine smile and continued, "There's something more that I need to talk to you. It's about Alexa... I figured out that you haven't told your parents anything. Look, I know it's hard for you as well as for your parents but you have to tell them the truth. Whatever Easton had told me was off the records. Now, when he is in coma again, we don't have any evidence or witness against her unless you become one..."
Before he could finish, I interrupted, "I'm sorry Detective, but I can't help you with it. I've decided that whatever happened at the lake is going to stay between me and Lex. She was just dominated by some misunderstanding, I know she chose a wrong way but I can't let the people hate her for that forever. I love her and I love my parents too, I can't give them another reason to grieve."
Detective seemed disappointed, "That's not a wise idea Ms. Vega. You have to abide by law and order. You can't be personal regarding something which involves crime. Sooner or later, they're going to know the truth, it'll hurt them more. I understand that you're trying to make it fine but this is only going to make it worse. You must think about..."
"Detective... I'm not going to change my mind. It may be possible that they'll get to know it someday, but I want her to be loved by everyone until that day. And if you forced me again, I think I'll let my lawyers talk to you", I said firmly.
Detective lifted a corner of his upper lip and said, "Fine, if this is what you want, I won't force you. But, what are you going to tell your parents. You must come up with a good story." I stared at him as he left the room.
A moment later, my parents entered the room. "Hey sweetie! Do you feel any good?" My mother asked as she sat beside me.
"Yes, màmà! I'm much better." I answered with a faded smile.
"Detective Lock told us that you wanted to talk to us. What is it about? Is it about what happened at the lake? Do you feel okay to share it now?" My father asked with a concerned look.
"Yes, I'm ready to share it." I continued as my father sat in a chair. "When we went to the lake, we had alcohol before swimming. Lex made a strong drink for me without telling me. We swam across the lake and as we reached its other end, Lex preferred to have a nap while I continued swimming. I didn't notice that my tube started leaking air and when I felt it, I was already in the deep water. I tried to reach the end of the lake but I felt very dizzy. I called Lex for help but she couldn't get my voice so I shouted louder. When she heard me, she came running towards the water but got tripped over a stone and broke her nose. She didn't care and entered the water." As I saw my mother's tears, I started crying not because I wanted my parents to believe my fake story but because they had already started believing me. "She managed to bring me near the end but her pain was unbearable. Before we could come out of the water, she fainted and I could hardly breathe and the last thing that I saw was a car coming towards the lake."
"That's when I came there, and brought them out of the lake." I didn't notice that Detective Lock was standing in the room and listening to the lie that I had told my parents.
He came forward and said to my parents, "I'm very sorry for your loss but I need to take her statement for further procedure of the case."
My parents looked at each other for a moment and nodded as if they silently agreed on something. My father turned to Detective Lock and said before leaving, "You may take her statement but we don't want any further investigation regarding this case. My family has been through a lot lately and we've decided to leave this city after Bri recovers completely. I want my daughter to be safe now."
After taking my statement, Detective Lock said, "So now your sister will be a hero after what you said. Once Easton comes out of the coma, everyone will know that you lied."
I gave a brief smile and said, "I'll be ready to face that day Detective. I'm just happy that my sister will be loved now."
"And I'm happy that you'll be safe now." Detective Lock smiled back and walked towards the door.
I really hope Lex that I made a right decision. I wish you could make the right decision too.
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